Migration Routes of Moose in the Jackson Herd in Wyoming

Moose in the Jackson herd make an elevational migration in the southern portion of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This small herd of approximately 500 animals winters primarily in the Buffalo Valley just east of Jackson Lake. During migration, animals travel an average one-way distance of 33 miles, with some animals migrating as far as 67 miles. In the spring, most moose migrate north into the Teton Wilderness or the southern extent of Yellowstone National Park. Summer ranges consist of a mix of conifers and riparian habitats along the upper watersheds that flow into the Snake River. Nearly all moose in this herd are migratory, with the herd sharing a common winter range then branching out in the spring to summer ranges to the north and west. Over the last decade or so, Jackson moose have experienced poor recruitment due to lingering effects of the 1988 fires, prolonged drought, and increased rates of predation by grizzly bears and wolves, although recruitment rates have been improving over the last five years or so. Despite the poor demographic performance, the migrations are relatively intact because most routes overlap public lands. These data provide the location of migration routes for Moose (Alces alces) in the Jackson herd in Wyoming. They were developed from Brownian bridge movement models using 94 migration sequences collected from a sample size of 33 animals comprising GPS locations collected every 2-8 hours.